Friday, August 05, 2005

Viva Castro!

Steve's right, the Mets are done. After winning seven out of 10 at home, they've dropped seven of their last 10; they simply can't resist the warm embrace of mediocrity. When that line drive slipped past Carlos Beltran yesterday afternoon, allowing the Brewers to pull off their second straight late-inning win, I heard the bell ring. Unlike Steve I wish they'd been able to trade for Manny, but even that was more for 2006 than this year. Ever the optimist, I started thinking of the positives. At this point maybe Willie Randolph, looking ahead to next year, will feel more comfortable juggling the line up, maybe give Wright some at-bats in the #3 spot, pencil in Castro for a few more starts behind the plate, give Heilman a start or three (sweet merciful god I hope this happens soon, let there be no more of Ishii's antics!). But all of those calls are based on instinct, I suppose numbers should play a role in such decisions, too. Once you've figured out who you expect to return next year, you have to figure out who's been most productive this year. So, while procrastinating some real work, I cooked up the following formula to see which Mets players have helped the offense the most.